Apple: One Year After Steve Jobs’ Death, iPhone Sales Disappoint Wall Street

It's time to look again to the future. But the fundamental question is: What if Jobs already introduced all of Apple’s breakthrough products?

Only Apple could sell 5 million iPhones in three days and still disappoint Wall Street’s number crunchers. The Cupertino-based cash machine’s new mobile phone debuted last Friday, and consumers lined up around the block — around the world — to purchase the new device. In the SoHo neighborhood of New York City on Friday, a line more than 100 deep snaked around the corner at noon. “The iPhone 5 didn’t make my iPhone obsolete,” a New York tech reporter remarked to me. (She was granted anonymity because she is not authorized to speak to the press.) “All the people who are upgrading on the first weekend are cell-phone junkies.”

She’s right. The people who line up overnight with camping gear and sleeping bags days in advance to buy new Apple products are fanatics – or what we would call fanboys. They must have the newest device as soon as possible. Not me: I’m only now learning how to use an iPad, thanks to a friend’s instructions.

Apple has reeled off one of the most profitable runs in the history of capitalism. This company, founded by a Reed College dropout and a Bay Area geek-genius, is sitting on over $100 billion cash. For perspective, that’s $30 billion more than New York City’s annual budget.

http://business.time.com/2012/09/25/apple-one-year-after-steve-jobs-death-the-iphone-falters/ 

Chinese internet users to overtake English language users by 2015

The number of internet users accessing the web in Chinese is set to overtake English language users by 2015, according to a report by the UN Broadband Commission.

 In May 2011, there were 565 million English internet users, compared to 510 million Chinese users, representing 27 per cent and 24 per cent of total global internet users, respectively.

The report predicts that if current growth rates continue, Chinese will overtake English as the main language used by internet users in 2015.

This switch is largely due to China's massive population, now over 1.3 billion people. 

 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/broadband/9567934/Chinese-internet-users-to-overtake-English-language-users-by-2015.html

10 questions for leaders to ask themselves

Good leaders are self-aware, and have thought through the issues and complications of leadership, says professional development consultant Todd Cherches. On the ThoughtLeaders blog, he offers 10 questions to ask yourself – and to answer:

1. How do you personally define leadership?

Definitions of leadership abound. But if one of your subordinates asked what your definition is, would you have an answer?

 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/management/10-questions-for-leaders-to-ask-themselves/article4545077/

My 15 Best Tips for Successful Disagreement

Disagreement can happen in any setting. You can disagree with your neighbor in cubicleville. You can disagree with your boss or initiate a discussion with a coworker over lunch. But, many disagreements occur during meetings – or they should.

The reason organizations hold meetings is so that employees can engage each other in discussion. Otherwise, why hold a meeting? Meetings are for discussion, decisions, and commitments. If you don’t state your opinion, whether you agree or disagree, you are not part of the discussion. 

 http://humanresources.about.com/od/conflictresolution/a/my-15-best-tips-for-successful-disagreement.htm

The Internet a Decade Later

Here is an infographic by Best Education Sites that shows how much the internet has changed over the last 10 years with sections on the growth of the internet, internet usage, the number of websites and more.

http://infographicdirectory.wordpress.com/2012/08/22/the-internet-a-decade-later/ 

Hotel-Experiment in England: eBook-Reader ersetzt Bibel im Nachtschränkchen

Die digitale Revolution macht auch vor der Heiligen Schrift nicht halt: In einem Hotel in Newcastle finden Gäste jetzt anstelle der Bibel einen Kindle in ihrem Zimmer vor - sie sollten gut auf das Gerät achten.

http://www.spiegel.de/reise/aktuell/hotel-indigo-newcastle-e-reader-kindle-ersetzt-bibel-im-nachttisch-a-843395.html 

'Watergate' and 'Chillax' among top 100 most influential English words

'Watergate' and 'chillax' have emerged as two of the most important words in the history of English, according to an academic study. 

 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/9485833/Watergate-and-Chillax-among-top-100-most-influential-English-words.html